


A Star in The Knight's Sky

by chooseyourownadventure



Category: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Homestuck
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Loneliness, M/M, Not quite an AU, Puberty, Sexual Tension, davekat - Freeform, future Karkat/past dave
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-19 07:43:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10635369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chooseyourownadventure/pseuds/chooseyourownadventure
Summary: Dave was momentarily blinded by the light. He stepped away from his camera and pinpointed the shooting star and its blazing tail plummeting, contrasted against the deep cerulean nightscape. Oh shit I guess I should make a wish, he mused. He shut his eyes tightly and wished with all his might that- sorry, if he told you the wish then it wouldn't come true right?This is the story about the life of an earthling and an alien whose lives become intertwined at a time when both could use a shoulder to lean on.





	1. Chapter 1

Night was falling over Houston, Texas. Even before the sun had disappeared over the western horizon the moon could be seen, making a faint watermark on the day sky, letting the sun know his time was up. In the dead centre of the city, on the rooftop of an apartment building sat a boy dangling his legs over the edge and tapping away on a mobile device. As the stars started coming more clearly into view, he glanced upward, sunglasses still on despite the lack of sunlight, at the clearest night sky of probably his entire life. He couldn't truly tell, however, since his sunglasses obscured most of the dimmer stars and he also wasn't exactly an avid stargazer. He just happened to be on the roof on the most beautiful night of his young life.

-ghostyTrickster [GT] started pestering turntechGodhead [TG]-

GT: wait... you were serious about not having seen e.t the extraterrestrial?  
GT: thats like a staple childhood movie i feel like it's some kind of time paradox that you havent seen it  
TG: um  
TG: i know the entire plot and all of the silly gags and goofs so im good  
TG: no major childhood trauma here because i never saw fucking e.t  
GT: but thats not the point!  
GT: arent you even a little bit curious about it?  
GT: we should have a movie night or something where i can screen share it to you over the internet and we can talk about our favourite parts and stuff :B  
TG: hm that sounds like a really terrible time but i guess its about time ive been properly schooled on my alien crash landing how-to guide  
TG: i can see it now me and my wrinkly phallus pal hamming it up where everyday is like a box of lucky charms with only the marshmallows  
TG: but sometimes there are days where you only get a big spoonful of the fucking grainy pebble lucky charms  
TG: and youre sat there at your beautiful breakfast island with your sweaty illiterate alien chump wondering where did all the fucking marshmallows go  
TG: eventually you have to stop dressing this little buddy up in the clothes from your cross dressing closet and face the fucking bomb beats that tell you you can both do better  
GT: um  
TG: come on extratoolestrial im gonna swaddle you up like baby jesus and virgin mary you to the nearest church  
TG: and leave you there on the step until the first nun of the day trips over you on her way to mass and says okay wow what is this dick monkey doing on the lords holy doorstep  
TG: and then finally the mf gets the gumption to speak and his words are as righteous as they are garbled  
TG: e.t phone home  
TG: fin  
TG: so do you still want to watch the movie with me or  
GT: lol yeah because it sounds like you know jack all about e.t  
TG: okay how about tomorrow then  
GT: yeah sure when i get home from school ill shoot you a message and set it all up on my end  
GT: don't forget to buy popcorn! and have some tissues handy  
GT: i know cool dudes dont cry and all but just in case! :BBB  
TG: haha okay man I'm saving the date right now  
GT: ok i have some homework to do talk to you tomorrow dave 

-ghostyTrickster [GT] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG]-

It had been a couple days since Dave had a decent conversation with John. Or Rose. Or Jade for that matter but it wasn't that she was too busy with school like the other two, it's because he could never tell what was going on with her between the 'talking in her sleep with her dreambot' and her regular shenanigans. It doesn't feel good when you're constantly getting blown off by your best and only friends. And for a while that's the way Dave had been feeling, and he was starting to wonder how often they spoke to each other without him. 

Dave sighed silently to himself and laid down on his back. He wanted to just have one tiny moment of not worrying about all this long distance friendship bullshit and how painful it could get at times. He wish he could walk around the block and hangout with any one of his buddies, or even that he went to regular public school like every other normal twelve year old. Ugh, he thought, just ugh. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his Bieber style blonde hair, combing his bangs back and pushing his glasses onto his forehead at the same time.

"Wow," he was stunned at how the whole sky shimmered when his glasses weren't blocking the starlight. He could see every goddamn star, every single one and every constellation too (even though he only recognized the Big Dipper). He stargazed for a minute before he started to think about how fun it would be to stargaze with Jade, having her point out all the stars by name and play games of seeing new constellations. Dave had to get up and leave the rooftop, to stop his train of thought and to go back inside and grab his camera and tripod. Maybe he could get a couple nice shots and even a closer look at some stars through the camera lens.

Dave took his favourite shortcut down to his bedroom window by edging off the roof and landing on the fire escape stairs a couple feet below. He slipped through his open window being extra careful not to step on anything important since his room was always a disaster. He grabbed his camera, a couple rolls of film, some extra batteries and tucking his tripod under his arm he headed out into the hallway and towards the front door. Dave could hear the low murmur of the television in his brother's room and could see light streaming out from the crack in the door. Tiptoeing, as not to alert his Bro to his presence he made his way to the door and reached for the handle.

BONK

Dave winced as he dropped his camera. He heard his Bro's footsteps padding quietly behind him and he turned to face him. 

"Going up to the roof again?" The older Strider asked. He looked sleepy as he rubbed his eye with a gloved hand. His hair was a mess and his shades were off which was unusual. Even though his eyes were only open a crack Dave could see his tangerine irises in the dim light.

Dave coughed into his words, "I'm just going to take some photos. I didn't mean to wake you up, Bro-"

"It's no big, relax little dude. You didn't wake me up I was working on some new content for the website." Bro stooped down and picked up the camera in one fluid movement. He dusted it off and squinted as he examined the lens, then offered it to Dave. The younger Strider went to take it but his Bro moved it out of his reach and chided, "You have to be more careful with your things, it's expensive to replace a camera lens."

Dave nodded and reached out his hand to receive the camera then muttered thanks quickly and quietly exited the apartment. His Bro still stood in place, staring at where Dave had just stood with his tired eyes wondering why he couldn't have a chat with his little bro without scaring him off.

Back on the rooftop the sky had only gotten more beautiful much to Dave's delight. He set his tripod up a couple feet from the roof's edge and mounted his camera on top and turned it on. The screen blinked to life and Dave pressed his eye to the viewfinder. His camera wasn't a great substitute for a telescope but he could zoom in enough to see the stars on a slightly bigger scale. As he snapped some pictures something whizzed through his lens so closely Dave was momentarily blinded by the light. He stepped away from his camera and pinpointed the shooting star and its blazing tail plummeting, contrasted against the deep cerulean nightscape. Oh shit I guess I should make a wish, he mused. He shut his eyes tightly and wished with all his might that- sorry, if he told you the wish then it wouldn't come true right?

There was a muffled impact and a tremor in the earth just strong enough to knock Dave's tripod over sending his camera skittering towards the roof's edge. Dave lunged forward and landed on his stomach managing to catch the neck strap of his camera as it dropped over the edge. Dave looked up and saw a distant cloud of smoke and dust, maybe at most ten blocks from his apartment. He stared at the cloud for a long time before he hopped to his feet and started scrambling to get his camera equipment, jumping off the ledge and onto his fire escape. In one movement he slipped legs first through his bedroom window depositing his camera and accessories onto his his keyboard set and ran out of his room, not even remembering his brother was still up working. He didn't spare a moment to worry about it and ran out the front door as fast as he could, sprinting down all the staircases until he reached the ground floor of his building. 

He ran and ran and ran until his body couldn't keep up with the demands of his brain. He was so close. He couldn't exactly see the cloud of smoke anymore but he knew this neighbourhood like the back of his hand and he knew deep down he was coming close. He took a short break on the sidewalk hunched over with his hands on his knees panting and gasping for air. He noticed as he was catching his breath he hadn't seen a single human being since he left his apartment. It was only 9:30 pm, so where we're all the night walkers and late job workers and homeless folks that normally littered the streets. Could they have seen the shooting star too and are already checking it out? Dave stood up straight and took off full tilt again.

He could tell he was almost there when he started smelling charred earth. Luckily for the residents of Houston the object had crash landed in the middle of a small municipal park so no one was likely harmed. Dave stopped running and approached with caution. There was a small clearing about 20 yards away and he could see bits of bedrock and branches from trees scattered all around and in the very centre of the clearing was something embedded in the ground. Dave glanced around for any military presence or any kind of presence at all and was surprised to see no one around, only him. As he drew nearer he could see clearly that it wasn't a shooting star or a meteor but some kind of metal box. A satellite? Some parts of it still appeared to be red hot from the journey through the Earth's atmosphere. From what Dave could tell, there was a small door and a handle and he was dying to open it and see what was inside. He covered one of his hands with the long sleeve of his shirt and stood in front of the door, heart hammering in his chest. He reached out, grabbed the handle and turned the knob.

The spring-loaded door flew open with such force that Dave was knocked off balance and thrown aside, his glasses flying into the darkness. The open door radiated with bright red light, catching Dave's eye and he stood up once more, peering inside of the smouldering tin can. He could just barely see the interior as he squinted his eyes through the blurry red mist but he was certain there was someone- or something-inside. It looked human, like maybe a young boy or girl. It was lying on the floor face down seemingly unconscious. Dave took a step inside and held his breath, one hand hesitantly reaching down to check if the thing was alive. At Dave's touch the being stirred and it's head lifted as it turned to face the boy. There was a thick substance clinging to it's tangled mess of black hair and it glared up at Dave with spiteful yellow eyes.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" It croaked. It's body was thin and wiry and it looked like it took all it's energy to hold itself up. Dave could tell now it was a boy, but it sure as hell wasn't human. Small, rounded horns protruded from the top of its skull just barely visible amongst its rat's nest of a head of hair.

"I think you need to lie back down, you look like a pile of shit."

The thing looked at him hard and long for a moment before it presumably gave up, energy levels totally depleted, and slumped back down onto the floor. Dave was completely flabbergasted. This has to be some kind of dream, he kept telling himself, and even though he was freaking the fuck out on the inside his body was on autopilot through the shock. He reached down and scooped up the boy in his arms. He was so small and so slight it was just like picking up Lil Cal. And so Dave walked all the way home, eyes staring blankly ahead, not realizing he hadn't passed a single soul on the way back either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmaooo just finished editing this chapter. It ends really abruptly because I was dragging it out way too long and nothing was happening except character building loL
> 
> I just want Karkat and dave to be in character I kind of lost track of the story (fcking kill me) 
> 
> I promise next chapter won't be so long winded.

Dave woke up feeling strange and groggy. The sunlight streaming through his window was blinding and with eyes barely open a crack he groped around on his bedside table searching for his shades. They weren't there of course, he had lost them the night before in the park but hadn't quite clued in yet. He groaned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes feeling so totally exhausted in a way he hadn't felt in a long while, not since his last bad strife with Bro. His stomach was sore and as he lifted up his shirt he revealed raw scrapes and yellow bruising down the front of his chest and abdomen. His right palm was badly burned but he was having trouble remembering how he injured himself. He remembered sliding across the cemented rooftop after his camera, but anything after that was a haze and he was at a loss at how he burnt his hand. He tried to think about what could have happened until he started to give himself a migraine. To make matters worse his glasses were totally gone. Dave scratched his head, but decided he could exist without them for a little while, at least until he found them or a suitable replacement.

In the kitchen he found a note magnetized to the fridge door with a couple hundred dollar bills attached to it. The note read:

Dear Dave,  
If you are reading this it means you are ready for breakfast. We're out of milk for the Lucky Charms so attached is some cash to keep you going for the next few days while I'm gone.  
~Bro Strider

Gone again, with no exact time or day of when to expect his return. Dave wasn't even sure what his brother did when he left the house like this, considering his 'day job' he highly doubted he was partaking in business conferences. Dave snatched the money and sat down on one of the bar stools in the kitchen; he counted two, three, four hundred dollars. Definitely enough to scrape by, he thought.

Upon returning to his bedroom Dave got a major feeling of déjà vu. He suddenly remembered coming into his room the night before, barely coherent, with some kind of task he had set his mind to. Dave turned on his computer and checked Pesterchum and surprise surprise there were no new messages for him. Oh well, why not pester Jade.

-turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering gardenGnostic [GG]-

TG: yo  
TG: seeing as youre the queen of all things dream and sleep related i wanted to ask you something  
TG: during any of your narcoleptic episodes have you ever had a dream where after you wake up you feel like it wasnt a dream  
TG: i had this dream but i cant remember a goddamn thing about it except that it was a vivid nightmare that had me all tossing and turning like a baby with a soiled Goodnight ™  
TG: dont you sleepwalk too  
TG: have you ever hurt yourself sleepwalking  
TG: or is it your jadebot that does all the walking so you never actually do the sleepwalking  
-gardenGnostic is an idle chum-  
TG: pce harley 

-turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG]-

That was kind of uncool, wasn't it? The blond boy attempts a face palm and forgets his palm is burnt, causing a double uncool combo. You're glad no one can see what a mess you are right now. 

Dave spun around in his computer chair and his eyes locked onto his closet. The door was slightly ajar, and now that he was looking at it he was starting to get another bout of déjà vu, this time it was much stronger. He got up from his computer chair and walked over. With every step closer he could hear faint snores coming from inside. There, nestled in a thick pile of smuppets was that alien. It was sound asleep looking innocent as a baby lamb with crusted blood clinging to its forehead and hair. In daylight it was easier to get a good look at it. It had tough, ashen grey skin with thin black lips and tiny pointed fangs sticking out from it's upper lip. It's eyes were large and took up most of the space on its face and it had these ridiculous bushy black eyebrows that gave it this silly angered appearance even while asleep. It's body was so thin and gangly, like a baby horse, it looked like it was comprised mostly of limbs with a tiny torso. 

It's body jolted and Dave's eyes flicked back to the alien's face. It stared back at him fearfully, eyes wides as saucers, and growled low and deep in its chest as a warning. Without wasting a second, he slammed the closet doors shut just as the other boy lunged. Dave shut his eyes tighter with each pound on the door. The alien was tiny but it packed a hell of a punch. 

"You can't keep me in here forever! What are you going to do, lock me in the apparel unit until I get fondled by enough dick-nosed rainbow fuck toys that I get Stockhive syndrome? Seems like you really thought this one through, huh."

Dave waited until his heartbeat stabilized before he spoke.

"If you calm down I'll let you out. You just have to promise not to do anything stupid."

"Me? Do anything stupid?" The alien let out a dry, humourless cackle. "That's so COMICAL coming from the pallid, most ugly bulgesniffer I've ever had the opportunity to be held hostage by! I'm starting to choke on all this fuzzy dong because I'm laughing so hard!"

"You should be grateful that I rescued your scrawny almost corpse from that rusted tin can you used as a spaceship. I could have just left you there." Keeping one hand on both doorknobs Dave reached for the closest rope-like object. He wrapped an Ethernet cable around the doorknobs about ten times and tied a knot that looked straight out of a boy scout guide book, then Dave stepped away from the closet and waited for the little alien's reaction. 

"Hello!"The voice from behind the doors shouted. Dave pushed his massive set of dj turntables in front of the closet. There was a bang, and then another and then the incessant pounding started up again. The closet doors quivered a little but it looked like the little bastard was staying put. Dave ran is fingers through his blond bed head and walked out of the room, shutting the bedroom door behind him. He could hear muffled screaming and pounding even as he exited out the front door into the empty hallway, heading out for a bit of fresh air.

Regrettably, Dave forgot to change out of his pajamas because he was so preoccupied with his new otherworldly roommate. He thought about going back in and changing but the idea was too risky. Just hearing the thing screech was enough to threaten a Strider mental breakdown, which if you weren't already aware is nigh impossible to do. It was that bad. Dave shuffled down the hallway to the elevator, hands deep in his pajama pockets and eyes glued to the floor. He wasn't sure where he was going but he would figure it out soon.

Out in the public street Dave kept his gaze on the sidewalk until his feet inevitably led him to Walgreens. He checked the money he brought with him and it was definitely enough to get some much needed groceries and first aid supplies. He shopped the aisles and dumped his loot on the check out belt. He picked up ravioli, apple juice, bread, milk and Oreos because he was a 12 year old boy and that's what a 12 year old left alone at home would eat. He also perused the first aid aisle but he wound up buying only medical bandages, first aid spray and a couple bottles of Advil for the pain. When he handed the cashier the money she looked down at Dave and gave him a concerned look. She asked him what he was doing buying all these first aid supplies all by himself. She noticed the burn on his palm, too. 

"I was up late last night having a jam session and I guess my beats were too fire and I got burned," was what he told her. She wasn't very pleased, but in the end she got her money and had to help the next person in line, so Dave slipped away back into the streets and towards his complex unhindered.

The house was eerily quiet upon returning back. The beast of burden had settled down, probably screamed itself into a deep, dreamless slumber. Dave plopped the Walgreens bags down on the kitchen table and pulled out the apple juice, one for him and one for the house guest.

Back in his room, Dave sat on the floor with his chin resting on his knees and a bottle of apple juice in either hand. One deep breath later, he started to talk.

"So, do aliens even have names or does any noise erupting from a bodily function serve that purpose?" He hadn't meant for it to come off so douchey but it was kind of his personality.

"HAHA you're such a wise ass, aren't you. Did your lusus teach you that speaking that way to strangers would keep you from getting grubnapped because I'm getting a huge whiff of underdeveloped neurons, like you wouldn't know a fully formed synapse if it snuck up behind you and whispered retard sensually in your aural canal. It's just so RICH that you think I'm going to open up to you like a tickled fucking clam all up and ready to relinquish a sweet granddaddy pearl for you. Well, you thought wrong!'

It didn't sound like he stopped to take a single breath.

"Jesus I haven't heard that much raw sewage spill out of one primate's mouth and I've firsthand witnessed a chimpanzee eat its own shit and vomit it back up again," Dave said. They would both probably be better off if Dave called animal control to haul the thing away to the Houston Zoo, and the idea was quite promising.

"I wonder how many iterations of us does it take to complete an infinite circlejerk of asinine comebacks?" It asked. Before the blond could answer it shouted, "TWO. It takes two, as in you and I jerking our massive cockrockets until we blast off and tear a new asshole in the fabric of the universe. I don't think I've ever spoken to someone so mindnumbingly annoying as you and that's coming from the guy who hates half of his close friends. It's like I'm a cosmic magnet for idiocy, I'm bulgedeep in incompetence and I can't get up. I'm pretty sure it's physically impossible to have this much hate without turning your own bloodpusher black, which would explain a lot about me. I fucking hate past me for getting me in this situation honestly what was up with that? Fuck you, past me."

Dave tried to listen all the way through his monologue but got sidetracked partway by the glistening apple juice in his hand. He took a swig and tried to remember what the conversation was about but it wasn't really about anything. Just your everyday infinite circle jerk, but at least he knew a bit more about the guy.

"Talk about psychological trauma. I would blame it on the puppet ass but I think it goes a lot deeper than that." Dave pushed his turntable set away from the doors and unwound the tether keeping them locked. "Anyway, you never told me your name."

"Are you going to let me out know?" The voice called back.

"I need the password first."

"How am I supposed to know the password when you haven't already told me it, jackwipe."

"Psst here's a pro tip. It's your fucking name."

"Oh," a moment of contemplation. "Karkat."

"What kind of name is Car Cat?"

"KARKAT. It's pronounced Karkat, you uncultured oinkbeast."

Dave opened the closet doors and Karkat tumbled out with an avalanche of smuppets following suit. He stood up quickly and looked Dave straight in the face, yellow eyes narrowed at Dave's own. The blond turned away and picked up the apple juice bottles from where he left them on the floor. He offered one to Karkat, but he didn't notice the gesture and remained staring dumbfounded at the other boy. 

"I get that technically I'm an alien to you but that doesn't mean an eyefuck free for all special, you're starting to creep me out."

"Dave." It wasn't a question, it was a well known fact. This alien, this Karkat knew his name.

"Huh?" Was all Dave could get out. Karkat leaned in closer, eyeing him up and down with his uncanny cat-like eyes. Dave even thought maybe he was smelling him too.

"Holy shit, of all people to get stranded on an alien planet with it's Dave fucking Strider, master of shitty half blades and wooing all the prime bitches. Where are your douchey spectacles I almost didn't recognize you without them covering ninety percent of your stupid face."

Karkat seemed to know a hell of a lot about Dave, so much so that Dave thought he might have an existential crisis right then and there but he steeled himself and swallowed the lump in his throat. He had to keep his composure above all else.

"Sorry, I don't know you man." The no duh really went without say since they physically had never met before, in either of their perspectives. "Oh wait," Dave realized, "you must be a fan of my work. What do you like more, my music or my art? I'm dying to know because now that I think of it you sound like an SbaHj fan."

Karkat made a face of distaste, his little black tongue darting out in defiance between his fangs, "I don't like you or your ugly pseudo art form of taking decent images and adding layer upon layer of terrible editing and godawful colour schemes. And don't forget the misspellings, Gog, it just wouldn't be the same without that little Strider sprinkle of mindboggling assfuckery, would it?"

"I knew it, you're totally a fan."

Karkat scoffed, pushed past Dave and made his way for the bedroom door.

"Well, it's been unbelievably terrible meeting you in person, I hope sincerely we never cross paths again." He was headed for the front door of the apartment, presumably to do a flying pirouette ass first off the handle and into the blazing Houston heat. 

"What are you doing?"

"The fuck does it look like, Strider. I'm getting out of here that's what."

The human boy laughed. "And people believe alien life is more advanced than ours. Maybe you should sit your ass down and get to thinking about the never ending list of reasons why that is the stupidest thing you could ever do ever," Karkat stopped with one clawed hand on the door handle as Dave continued. "I mean really, what are the chances you crash land on earth and not only do you link up with someone you know and despise, but they are willing to let you live. If you walk out that door you're signing a liability waiver that entitles you a gruesome yet scientifically beneficial death by cruel experimentation."

Karkat looked at Dave over his shoulder, his canines gnawing on his lower lip.

"Who's to say they won't probe you, if you catch my drift." He made an obscene fisting gesture to emphasis his point.

Karkat frowned but reluctantly removed his hand from the door handle. He really didn't have much choice, storming out the door now or any time for that matter could spell disaster. He needed to stay put if he wanted to stay alive. He was still weighing the pros and cons of bunking with Dave; did he value his life enough to put himself through hell on Earth with the guy? Karkat couldn't decide. 

"So you're letting me stay here then?" The scrawny troll asked with a trace of disdain. 

"Yeah," Dave replied. "My Bro is out of town for a few days so it will give me some time to come up with a plan."

Dave, still faithfully holding onto the apple juice bottles, placed them on the cluttered kitchen table and reached for one of the unpacked Walgreens bags. He pulled out some cans of ravioli and looked over at his alien counterpart. Karkat sat down in the bar stool across the table from Dave, his yellow-clawed hands holding up his oversized head. He looked really tired which made a lot of sense. Hurtling through time and space in a small metal box probably wasn't anything like a ride at Disneyland. As he unpacked more food and laid it out on the table Dave noticed fresh blood dripping from the troll's forehead so he pushed the first aid supplies towards Karkat. Karkat gave him a questioning look.

Dave tapped his own forehead. "I think you took a hit during your little space flight."

Karkat touched his forehead and examined the blood on his fingertips. He stiffened and stood up abruptly. "I need to use the ablution trap!" His yellow eyes scanned the room furiously, as he looked for a place to hide.

"Whoa, slow down. Do you want to see yourself in the mirror because the bathroom is down the hallway to the left," before Dave had even finished talking Karkat was halfway there. 

The door slammed and Dave was left alone with his groceries to put away. What the fresh hell got into him, he wondered, He must have hit his head pretty hard and injured the part of his brain responsible for rational thought. Dave snorted quietly, and put a can of ravioli in the microwave.

While the ravioli was cooking to irradiated perfection the blond figured Karkat had been in the bathroom for a long time. He scooped up the first aid supplies in his arms and headed for the bathroom.

"Karkat?"

"WHAT."

"Are you good?"

"Yes, you festering clump of imbecile matter. I'm feeling pretty great, the gash in my forehead really brings out the fucking colour of my horns, thanks for asking."

"Douche," Dave struggled with his arms full to turn the doorknob and was taken aback when the door opened. He got half of his body through the door before Karkat realized and started pushing against him.

"What are you doing? Leave me alone, asshole!"

"Dude, just let me in I'm trying to help."

"No fucking way, just tell me how to turn on the pleural basin so I can wash myself off."

"No. Don't try to fight it, I'm coming in whether you want me to or not." Mustering up all his power, Dave shifted his weight and stepped back. Inside he heard Karkat swear and fall against the door, then the human pushed as hard as he could and stumbled into the bathroom. The two boys tripped over each other and fell on the hard tile floor. The first aid supplies flew everywhere. Dave used his foot to shut the bathroom door behind him and pushed himself up off the floor. Karkat stayed motionless on the ground.

"Hey," Dave said. There was no answer. "Hey!" He wrapped one hand around the alien's knee and squeezed hard but there was no response. His eyes were closed and his mouth was hanging open and it looked like he had smacked his head off the side of the bathtub. Kneeling next to him, Dave peeled back the boy's matted hair and revealed the nasty cut running through his hairline and down the left side of his forehead. The fresh blood had dribbled its way down Karkat's face like a single red tear trail. Dave located the first aid spray and applied it to some toilet paper, then wiped the the cut clean of the encrusted pus and blood surrounding it. After bandaging Karkat's head like a nursing school amateur, because damn the guy had a thick head of hair, Dave slipped his arms under the horned creature's armpits and dragged him back to the kitchen where he plopped his ass down on the stool and positioned him so that his upper body was supported on the table. Dave never liked the bar stools but they seemed exceedingly annoying in this situation. He could probably buy some better chairs with the money his Bro left him if he wasn't feeling so tired after dealing with Karkat.

The microwave dinged and Dave donned an oven mitt to extract it without burning his only remaining palm. As he was grabbing a fork and a can opener he heard a confused grunt. Karkat lifted his head up slowly, disoriented and looking as pale as a grey alien could. Dave sat down, speared a ravioli with his fork and waved it under Karkat's nose. Sputtering, Karkat recoiled from the ravioli and attempted to swat it away. His movements were sluggish and he missed the mark by a long shot, but then he touched his forehead. His eyes widened as he tried to look up to see the bandages tangled around his head.

"Hey... did I do this?" Karkat gestured to the crappy first aid job.

Dave shrugged and popped his ravioli in his mouth. "Sure, if that's what you want to believe." Karkat frowned but didn't have a flaming retort to send Dave's way, he just sort of slumped over. "Have some AJ, it'll make you feel better."

"No thanks," the grey kid muttered.

"Man, I liked it a lot better when you were a jerk 'cuz at least it was fun to talk to you. What gives?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Karkat snapped. 

The two sat in silence, Dave eating his ravioli and Karkat staring at a fixed point on the floor. Eventually the human kid absconded back to his room, leaving Karkat alone in the kitchen to his own devices. Once he was sure Dave had left, he reached across the table for the opened bottle of AJ and took a sip.

"Bleughhhhhhh," he would sooner drink out of the toilet then try that vile potion again.


	3. Chapter 3

"So we're friends and you know me really well but I somehow don't know you at all?"

Karkat nodded, "Exactly. So you get it now?"

Dave looked out his bedroom window. The sun was just rising and it was way too early to be awake by his standards but Karkat was having trouble adjusting to Earth time. On the meteor it was perpetually dark and all the trolls slept whenever they felt tired, not when the sun was gone from the sky. 

"Like, I guess. I just don't get the whole time travel thing. How could you be from the future and come to the past? Wouldn't you end up on future Dave's Earth?"

"Ugh," Karkat rolled his eyes and balled the bedsheets up in his fists. "You are a lot simpler of a species than I pegged you for, and I thought you were underdeveloped before." The troll took a deep breath a rattled out his story one more time, for those who weren't listening well enough. Dig the grubsauce out of your hear ducts and pay attention.

Karkat had been wandering the meteor, sulking about an argument he had just had. It started out as himself versus Sollux regarding whether or not to keep trolling the humans. Karkat couldn't stand them. Every time he trolled them it was like a brand new feeling of rage bubbled up and he felt like turbulent volcanic eruption. And he kind of liked it. Sollux hadn't bothered speaking to them at all, he knew enough to save his rage for people who were actually relevant in his life. So he and Karkat got right into it. Sollux asked him why he still tried to troll the humans when it only caused him to get reverse trolled and make him angrier. Karkat refused to believe it, and to make matters worse Terezi and Kanaya both teamed up on him. As if it made any sense at all, since they were both knee deep in the human's verbal feces. Karkat stormed off to the furthest corner of the meteor to be alone for a while. The meteor was huge, so much faster than Karkat had realized. There were doors locked from the inside that were coated with dust and hallways without electricity that lead to labs in shambles. Eventually Karkat got tired of walking wanting to nap off his frustration, so he stopped in the closest room and laid down. He hadn't realized the room was an emergency escape pod, he didn't even know the meteor was equipped with them. Long story short, Karkat fell asleep and accidentally pulled the handle to release the pod into space and as he hurtled through the furthest ring Skaiaward he travelled through one of Skaia's protection portals and was transported to Earth, bringing us back to the 'present' (in Dave's perspective).

Karkat finished his long winded story and looked at Dave who's head was hanging over the back of his computer chair, mouth open. 

"Dave were you even listening at all?"

Dave snored.

"You are a total dick."

"Thank you."

Dave shook his mouse and his computer hummed to life. On his dashboard he had a Pesterchum notification. He opened it with curiosity, head snapping up to attention. Karkat watched him wantonly. Why couldn't he listen to him with that kind of focus. They both read the words on the screen together.

-ghostyTrickster [GT] started pestering turntechGodhead [TG]-

GT: okay!  
GT: i have it all set up now im going to skype you now.  
GT: ...  
GT: ........  
GT: hellooo david strider it is 5pm eastern standard time.  
GT: are you busy are you battling your wicked bro again?  
GT: if youre busy we can do this some other time just pester me.  
GT: but youre missing out!  
GT: i wasnt going to tell you but i got super hyped for this i even had some sweet rap lines planned out in case you decided to roast me.  
GT: bye man.  
GT: dont forget to message me.

-ghostTrickster [GT] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG]-

"Shit!" Strider buried his hand in his fringe. He totally forgot about his plans with John. How was he supposed to remember, God now John probably thought he was some self righteous dickhead. 

"You shouldn't worry so much you can message John back later and say 'Oh I'm sorry I flaked on our date I'll totally make it up to you'" Dave glared at his computer screen. "It's just John."

It's just John, Dave scoffed at the comment. As if Karkat would even understand. He thought he knew Dave and his friends but he didn't know anything. Dave smoothed his hair back down.

"You don't even know John," Dave said as he closed Pesterchum without responding. "You act like you know us but did you really, Karkat? Because it sounds like you have no idea what we are actually like."

Karkat frowned. "Likewise."

"Dude, that doesn't make sense 'cause I'm past Dave I don't actually know you."

"Oh yeah."

Dave laughed. Better to pretend it's no big deal that he accidentally flaked on his best bud. Even though he felt like a waste of space and a garbage friend. Karkat leaned over to the computer, his head hovering in front of Dave's chest. He eyed the computer screen, then grabbed the mouse and opened Pesterchum again.

"Hey, you have Terezi's trollian handle in your chat history," he said. He clicked on the name gallowsCalibrator and opened a new chat. Bolting up, Dave grabbed the mouse and tried to close the chat client.

"That's my personal conversations you're rifling through and I didn't give you permission." Dave struggled against Karkat's grip on the mouse.

Karkat grunted, "Back off, you smelly bulge roach. I'm just trying to contact somebody. I'm not like you, I don't cast my friends aside so blithely and she's probably wondering where I am right now anyway, so can you just- HEY. NO, don't touch me like that you creep."

"Touch you like what, Karkat?" Dave squeezed Karkat's rib cage, fingers dancing under his armpits. Karkat squealed and squirmed. "I guess even aliens get ticklish sometimes," Dave ruminated.

They fought over the mouse, opening and closing different applications, typing gibberish into Pesterchum as they wrestled over the keyboard. Suddenly, there was a Pesterchum notification sound and Dave gave Karkat a serious shove to the side, sending him sprawling to the floor. Karkat growled and moaned, holding his head. Dave muttered a halfhearted apology, eyes never leaving the screen. It wasn't John, as Dave thought it might be.

TG: aggkliuh6688!)) fucIOKKKINNGD0nt ffjlIkujnnnnnnnnmmmm  
TG: hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  
TG: hhh  
TG: h  
GG: dave!   
GG: so glad to hear from you i heard you missed johns movie night he seemed really disappointed  
TG: oh yeah i was so preoccupied over here   
TG: you know how it is  
GG: i guess? but that doesnt mean its okay that you blew him off like that  
GG: he was really looking forward to it :(

Karkat observed Dave from his vantage point on the floor. He wasn't one hundred percent sure but it seemed like in that particular light that he was blushing, just slightly. He was gazing intensely at the computer screen, against its fluorescence Dave had his lips drawn tight. Karkat was good at reading people, he could tell there was more going on underneath the surface but Strider's facial expressions were exceptionally stony.

 

TG: im sure he will understand egbert is almost a big boy now his birthday is in a month   
TG: he hasn't quite reached the big leagues but he has a heart of goddamn gold   
TG: its why we get along so well we are totally complimentary  
GG: lol  
GG: still dave you should talk to him if i were him i would be so bummed out  
GG: i know how much your friendship means to both of you  
TG: yeah of course harley who do you take me for  
TG: also how bummed out would you be exactly  
TG: standing in line in the rain waiting to see your favourite band only to have them cancel last minute bummed out or dropped your ice cream cone on the sidewalk before you got to lick it bummed out  
GG: i can't tell which one is supposed to be worse!  
GG: probably found out more of my pumpkins disappeared from my greenhouse bummed out  
GG: like i already expect it to happen but its still disappointing when it happens  
GG: anyway! go message john my stridebro  
TG: haha pinky swear promise   
GG: bye! :)

-gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG]-

Dave pushed away from his computer desk with sigh. Karkat had found his way back onto Dave's bed and was staring at Dave with his huge yellow eyes. Dark circles, the likes of which Dave had never seen, lined the troll's under eyes and gaunt shadows hollowed his cheeks. Ever since Dave had found him, despite the short lived lighthearted moments, he retained a helplessly frightened countenance. 

With one handed propping up his pointed chin, Karkat motioned to the computer with a nod and asked, "are you finished now?"

Dave affirmed this and stood up from his chair. He closed his pester chat with Jade and sat on the edge of the bed, examining the bedroom floor. "I don't know what it's like to be transported across the universe, hell I've never left Texas in my life, so correct me if I'm wrong but you must be really scared."

Dave swallowed hard. He wasn't the type to strike up a conversation like this, but it felt necessary. Internal and external forces were working on him, compelling him to do something. Maybe it was kinship that he felt towards his alien counterpart. It couldn't be helped in a dire and surreal situation like this.

"Yeah," Karkat replied. He paused for a moment, then continued. "You're right. But it feels a thousand times shittier than 'really scared'. Its like being stuck in your worst fever dream but you can't wake up because you're already awake. Not to mention I can't manage to get a single wink of sleep let alone a blink because you guys haven't invented sopor slime yet. All of my friends are probably wondering where I am. I'm not even sure how long it's been since I left the meteor... is it perigrees or sweeps..."

"So you haven't been able to sleep because you don't have sopor slime?" Dave questioned, forgetting for a moment he had no idea what sopor slime was. 

"That's not the point," Karkat huffed. "I need to use your human trollian to contact somebody, I saw that you have already spoken with her in the past so maybe she can help me figure out what to do. At least I could talk to someone who isn't you." Dave shot Karkat an icy stare. "Don't act like that bothered you, Strider."

"Fine. Go ahead. Just don't talk to my friends. I don't know what I would tell them if you said something weird that you couldn't take back." Dave flopped over backwards on the bed, his fingers linked over the top of his golden crown of hair. "I'm already in the dog house as it is."

Karkat plopped down in the computer chair and opened a new chat with gallowsCalibrator. His yellow tipped fingers hammered furiously on the keyboard.  
Will I even be able to contact the right Terezi? Karkat just hoped that this would work out. Fuck this timey-wimey horseshit in its paradoxical all encompassing nook. The sun filtering through the blinds was hot and uncomfortable, causing Karkat's skin to prickle. He shifted to the left dodging the light's rays as he waited for an answer.

GC: W3LL W3LL WH4T DO W3 H4V3 H3R3  
GC: 4R3 YOU TROLL1NG M3 TOD4Y M1ST3R GL4Z3D CH3RRY P13 > ;]  
GC: 1M SO SURP1S3D MY 3Y3BROWS 4R3 G3TT1NG 4W4Y FROM M3!!!  
TG: I THOUGHT THOSE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR HORNS.  
GC: HMM YOU S33M 4NGR13R TH4N USU4L... W41T 4 S3COND HOW DO YOU KNOW 4BOUT MY HORNS  
GC: SOM3TH1NG SM3LLS GRUBBY 4ND 1TS YOU  
TG: TEREZI, ITS KARKAT. I NEED YOU TO BE SERIOUS FOR THE REST OF THIS CONVERSATION OR I MIGHT AS WELL HAVE TROLLED ANY OF THE OTHER DOUCHEGUZZLERS ON THE METEOR.  
TG: ACTUALLY, IM GLAD ITS YOU I GET TO TALK TO. WHAT POINT IN TIME ARE YOU FROM? HAVE WE ALREADY HAD OUR CHOLEROUS CLUSTERFUCK OF AN ARGUMENT IN THE HUSKTOP BLOCK? THE ONE WHERE YOU TOOK THE LITHPY GRUBFUCKERTH SIDE AND FORCED ME TO LEAVE THE BLOCK.  
GC: Y3S TH4T 4RGUM3NT H4PP3N3D 4N HOUR 4GO  
GC: H3Y 1F YOUR3 TH3 R34L K4RK4T HOW COM3 YOUR3 T4LK1NG UND3R ON3 OF TH3 HUM4NS CHUM H4NDL3S? 4LSO TH3 R34L ON3 WOULDNT T4LK 1N TH1S COLOUR B3C4US3 H3S 4 L1TTL3 GRUB WHO 1S 4SH4M3D OF H1S GORG3OUS MUT4NT BLOOD >:<  
TG: OKAY FIRST OF ALL FUCK YOU IN YOUR VENOMOUS SEEDFLAP  
GC: >:[  
TG: AND IF YOU REALLY NEED PROOF IM THE REAL KARKAT, THEN ILL TELL YOU SOMETHING ONLY I COULD KNOW. YOU WERE REALLY MESSED UP AFTER VRISKA BLINDED YOU AND YOU DIDNT WANT ANYONE TO KNOW, BUT YOU TALKED TO ME AND TOLD ME ABOUT HOW HOPELESS YOU FELT.  
TG: AND YOU STILL HAVENT FORGIVEN HER FOR IT. WHICH IS TOTALLY RIGHT BECAUSE WHAT A TACKY BITCH SHE HAD NO REASON TO DO THAT TO YOU. BUT YOURE BOTH CERTIFIABLY FRIED IN THE AGGRAVATION SPONGE IF YOU ASK ME.  
GC: OK4Y... 1M R34LLY CONFUS3D BUT 1M GO1NG TO B3L13V3 YOU  
GC: 1 SW3AR 1F TH1S 1S STR1D3RS 1D34 OF 4N 3L4BOR4T3 PR4NK 1M GO1NG TO FLY OFF TH3 H4NDL3 4ND DO SOM3 R4D34DLY MOV3S 4ND H3 WONT KNOW WH4T H1T H1M!!!  
TG: LETS TRY TO STAY ON TOPIC FOR ONCE, CAN WE. I NEED YOU TO GO LOOK FOR ME ON THE METEOR. GO AS FAR AS YOU CAN UNTIL YOUR FRONDS REFUSE TO TAKE YOU ANY FURTHER AND YOU CANT EVEN FATHOM THE UTTER DEPTH OF THE USELESS OF THE BLOCKS AROUND YOU.  
TG: THERE YOU SHOULD FIND A BLOCK THATS UNLOCKED. CHECK IF IM THERE. IF YOU MANAGE TO FIND ME BEFORE I GET SHAT INTO THE FURTHEST RING THEN WHOOPEDY FUCKING DOO IM PART OF A DOOMED TIMELINE.  
TG: WOW. I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT, BUT MAYBE THIS IS A DOOMED TIMELINE NO MATTER WHAT. THERES PROBABLY NOTHING I CAN DO, IM GOING TO BE STUCK HERE UNTIL I GOUGE MY SIGHT GLANDS OUT WITH DAVES NOODLE POUCH SPEAR.  
GC: D1D YOU JUST 4LLUD3 TO TH3 F4CT TH4T YOU 4R3 W1TH D4V3?  
TG: YES BUT NO. NOT THE SAME DAVE WE KNOW, A YOUNGER PAST DAVE. ITS A LONG STORY BUT IM ON THE HUMAN PLANET WITH DAVE STRIDER PRE-SBURB. HES EQUALLY AS DISTASTEFUL AS OUR DAVE BUT STRIKINGLY MORE NAIVE AND DERIVATIVE.  
TG: I JUST NEED YOU TO DO THIS FOR ME, PLEASE TEREZI. IM BEING SO SHAMELESS, IM TYPING IN MY BLOOD COLOUR AND IM FIGURATIVELY ON MY KNEES KISSING YOUR NUB PROTECTORS.   
GC: K4RK4T 1 KNOW YOUR3 NOTOR1OUS FOR 4CCID3NT4LLY SOL1C1T1NG YOUR QU4DR4NT F1LL1NG OBS3SS1ON ON OTH3RS BUT 4M 1 WRING TO S4Y YOU W3R3 JUST R3D FL1RT1NG W1TH M3??  
TG: ...   
TG: I WOULD BE LYING IF I SAID I DIDNT MISS YOU SO MUCH IM GOING OUT OF MY THINKPAN IN DAVES COMMUNAL HIVE BLOCK.  
GC: >:0  
GC: <3  
GC: S33 YOU SOON

-turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC]

Karkat couldn't peel his eyes away from the screen. He memorized their entire conversation before the computer went to sleep and Karkat realized he was crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took forever I can't read homestuck so my inspiration is down the shitter.
> 
> Also I can't format at all because I'm on my iPad (do u have any idea how hard it is to type quirks on this stupid thing). Anyway enjoy the karezi backstory


End file.
